Paul Short may get a lot of buzz this week, but the Carlisle Invitational has plenty of fire power this year. West Chester Henderson has decided to schedule the meet this year to showcase their talent. A lot of talent outside of PA looks like it will also be making the trip to Carlisle including Don Bosco of New Jersey. North Allegheny, a team that historically is always at this meet, is currently not on the list of scheduled teams on Penntrack, but hopefully they will be making the trip once again. Other teams scheduled to be in attendance include Kiski Area, Penncrest, and Pennsbury. Pennsbury is currently a top 4 ranked team in the state and is coming off a big confidence booster at Hershey. Mount Lebanon has attended this meet in the past as well, but is not scheduled at this time. They, like their D7 rivals North Allegheny, could be in the team title mix. Also worth considering is Downingtown West, who will not attend Paul Short and has atttended this meet in the past. They seem to be a team on the rise with something to prove. LaSalle is in a similar boat to DTWest having not signed up for Paul Short as of my last perusal. They have had great success at this meet before and I hope to see them back. Hopefully Stone will begin to make a climb back to the top and maybe we will see some of Tom Coyle, who was 2nd at Carlisle last year. North Penn also has attended this meet in years past, but is not currently scheduled as is Lower Dauphin who ran last year.
In the individual race there are a lot of names to be on the look out for. Out front, of course, there is Tony Russell, who has a lot of confidence after an impressive Briarwood time. He will attack the 15:40 barrier again here at Carlisle if conditiions permit. But the talented junior will be fronted by his rival to the west, Brent Kennedy of Kiski. Kennedy was 7th last year at states and dropped some impressive doubles and triples on the track including his state performance. Kennedy then opened his season with a convincing win at Red White and Blue in 15:27 over Jaskowak and Martin. Both Russell and Kennedy are looking to impress at this field and make a run at the #1 individual ranking, which should benefit both of their teams. Then of course there is Hershey champion Connor Harriman who will look to use his furious kick to compete at the top level.
The top PA returner in this race after Shearn (who has declared for Paul Short) and Coyle (who has been injured all season) is Francis Ferruzzi, who was 7th last season. He opened up his year at Belmont with a solid top 10 finish. He will look to prove himself in another big meet hanging up there with the top pack. Barchet and Rimkis both also should be in the mix up front in this race as they look to boost the Henderson stock. Vinny Todaro is a sleeper pick for the title if he has his day in the Challenge race.
Here are some other names to watch:
Ken Leidal*
Joey Steadman*
Harrison Schettler
Sam Webb
Cole Nissley
Jeff Groh
Zach Brehm
The NA Boys*
Dan Klinik
Liam Corcoran
Chris Culley*
The Archers*
Jordan Crawford*
Shawn Wolfe
The Kazanjans
Will Cather
DWest is going to the Maymont Festival in Virginia
ReplyDeleteState college boys going to bloomsburg
ReplyDeleted3 update hershey 27 LD 28 Tues. results and groh ran
ReplyDeleteGroh and Nissley went 1-2
DeletePennsbury Boys are not running Carlisle only the girls team.
ReplyDeleteWhat race will dwest be in? Silver or invitational?
ReplyDeleteInvitational
DeleteAs a Carlisle HS runner, here is the current information.
ReplyDeleteThe list of teams on penntrack is final, no more entries are being accepted meaning: no NA, Lasalle, Mt. Lebanon, DTW, LD, CV or Hershey.
As stated above Pennsbury and State College boys are not attending as well.
Teams to look out for:
WCH
Don Bosco (NJ)
St. Anthony's (NY)
Kiski
Woodgrove (VA)
Walter Johnson (MD)
Many other out of state schools including University(WV), South Lakes(VA), Washingtonville(NY)
Individuals in Puma Challenge:
Feruzzi
Russell and other WCH
Kennedy
Brehm
St. Anthony's Boys
Don Bosco Boys
Michael Wegner (MD-unat)
Klink
Padgett
Kazanjians
not sure which race yet:
Corcoran
Todaro
Reilly (Dallastown)
Annville-Cleona
The meet has the largest number of out-of-state schools ever in invitational history. This information may not be 100% accurate, I apologize for misspellings or omitions. The meet should be one of the fastest ever the lead pack. The team race is also extremely deep, especially out of state. WCH should see how they stack up against nationally ranked St. Anthony's and Don Bosco.
Its off topic but figured i'd let you know. A lot of kids I've talked to say that a lot of seniors will not be running at Central Catholic, so the race results will be mighty different depending on which teams have their whole team running. Most Seniors are taking SATs that day.
ReplyDeleteYeah, usually there are less big meets for that reason some weekends.Same thing with the TFCA of GP meet at glenn Mills except with juniors. I know the Neshaminy invite in May is scheduled in the afternoon for that reason. Just a side note.
DeleteHow did dwest get accepted into the invite race? They're barely top 10 in the state and that race is pretty legit. I know some teams in the past have been ranked 3 in the state and barely got in.
ReplyDeleteThey're not even 3rd in their conference.
DeleteBased on current times right now, they are third in their conference. And their conference contains four of the top teams in the states, all who will most likely make it to the state meet.
DeleteDwest has some good runners and some depth, but they're not a top 10 State team. Right now they're tied with Kennett for 6th in Chestmonts. That Penn Track ranking might be a little biased to please advertisers.
DeleteWhere are you basing that off of. Dwest has all 7 runners sub 18 where as Kennett only has their top 3 sub 18. Dwest would walk all over Kennett. Who are the other teams that you think that they're behind.
DeleteThey trail Henderson, East, Great Valley, Unionville, Rustin and are tied with Kennett in the combined standings.
DeleteWhat times are you basing this off of?
DeleteThe Chesmont League home page shows the standings.
DeleteBefore you start making inaccurate claims about teams, get accurate stats. Based off of Penn Track Virtual meets, which are based off times run so far this year, West is the 3rd best team in the Chesmont behind Henderson and WC East. GV is a close 4th.
DeleteVirtual meets are meaningless since the times are from different courses and don't include dual meets.
DeleteDWest got 3rd in their division at Maymont, so I guess it's safe to say that it's okay they were let in.
DeleteThe Ches-Mont is a 2 division league. They are 3rd in the National Division behind Henderson and East. They are either 3rd or 4th best in the league depending on how they do against Great Valley. They are better then Unionville and Kennett.
ReplyDeleteIt's two divisions but one league. Under the scoring system DWest does trail Henderson, East, Rustin, Great Valley and Unionville and tied with Kennett. Tough to say they are better than teams they're behind or to give a top 10 state ranking to a 6th places conference team.
DeleteBy the way, the standings on the Ches-Mont site are wrong. They only run six matches and I believe DWest has only lost twice, not four times.
DeleteDoesn't matter, you only get points for wins and ties. They have 6 points, which puts them in 6th place.
DeletePerson directly above, you clearly know nothing about XC and the Chesmont League.
DeleteI think you need more pictures with trophies.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy if you know XC. They don't compete against the other division in dual meets. They're only that low because they lost to Henderson and East who are top ten teams in the State. They're probably not a top 10 team in the State, but they're probably close. Great Valley and DTW should be right there for the last 2 spots to get to States with about 6 other teams.
ReplyDeleteWhen they beat conference teams they trail like Great Valley, Unionville, Rustin, and Kennett, then start talking about States.
DeleteDwest doesn't race any of those teams in duel meets. All of those teams you just mentioned are in the American division. West is in the National Division with Henderson and WC East. The National Division is significantly better then the American Division. West would beat anyone in the American easily except maybe GV
DeleteAnyone who says that Unionville or Kennett is better than Dwest obviously does not know anything about the Chesmont leauge. It is home to some of the top teams in the state. Unfortunately for Downingtown West, they are in the same division as Henderson and WCE. This makes their record deceivingly bad. Schools like Unionville and Kennet get to beat up on the lesser of the Chesmont teams and come out of the season with stronger records. There is no way to compare these teams based off of leauge records. Rather look at invitationals and times. After you go on penntrack, actually do some research, come back and say that you still think DTW is 6th in the Chesmont. (spoiler alert they aren't)
ReplyDeleteThey may be 7th. Oxford has really improved over the last two weeks.
DeleteTo anyone saying that DWEST is behind schools like Kennet, Unionville, Rustin, and Oxford- stop talking. DWEST is a team that should be compared to WCE and GV. Actually understand how the Ches-Mont league works before saying something as bold as that. National only goes against National. American only goes against American.
DeleteIf downingtown west was in the silver race they would probably lose to Baldwin and T.C. Williams. Dwest is not 8th in the state...overrated.
ReplyDeleteThis was hilarious to read. DTW is not on level with Kennet and Unionville in any way, shape, or form. Penntrack has them as PA#8 I believe? They aren't number 8, but they are good. Not even comparible with Unionville and Kennet.
ReplyDelete-RTJ
I have one question, Why are you guys arguing about a team like D-west, especially when they aren't even going to this meet? How about you guys exchange cell phone #'s and continue this debate in private. Why don't we get back on topic and discuss our predictions for the individual title and team title.
ReplyDeleteDiscussing individual and team predictions is too mainstream...
ReplyDeleteDwest is affiliated with a store that is now a Penn Track sponsor.
ReplyDeleteThe rankings are done by a group of coaches, not by Don Rich. He just compiles them. Are you suggesting that Don alters the vote to get DTW in the rankings? That's ludicrous. He probably can't name 3 guys on the DTW team. BTW, Henderson is more affiliated with that store and they're not over ranked.
DeleteDwest is currently tied for 6th at Chestmonts If they beat Coatesville on Wednesday, and if Kennett beats Rustin, they'll move into a tie for 5th with Kennett. If Rustin beats Kennett, D West will hold 6th alone. GV and Unionville square off but Dwest can't catch either no matter who wins.
ReplyDeleteYou realize you are all being baited.
DeleteI would not be surprised at all if D-West beats WCE at Districts
DeleteToo bad, NA wouldnt be here to settle the 2nd best team in the state. more reason to get excited for the championship. should still be a great meet. good luck to all teams competing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, can't wait to see O'Hara vs. CBA at Great American. Time for PA to make a statement.
DeleteOn a side note http://www.runcrn.com/starting-assignments.html for the teams going to the CRN invite. Should be interesting to see how HGP does. Individuals like Berry, CRN Boys, and the Kazanjian brothers will be battling for the top spot
ReplyDelete--ForrestCRN
Paul Short today should show that WCE and GV are favorites to join Henderson and Pennsbury out of D1. That leaves just one spot one for states. DWest has a shot, but CRN, CBE and NP probably have the edge on them.
ReplyDeleteSo who is going to win at Carlisle tomorrow (individual and tema)?
ReplyDeleteIt won't be DWest since they're in Virginia.
DeleteHenderson should win it, they've got 2 and as many as 4 who could come in before the NA pack.
Individually it's probably Russell, Harriman & Kennedy, with Russell getting the edge. But this time of year often brings an unexpected new guy who reaches the next level.
NA is not running. St. Anthony's of NY is the favorite and then Henderson. Individuals should be Kennedy, then Russell. Harriman and Pennsbury's boys are not running.
ReplyDeleteIs that the NEPA invite? I wonder how it went...
ReplyDeleteLooks like Haugh and Chaborek didnt race at carlisle. They still destroyed US#29 st. anthony and don bosco
ReplyDeleteHaugh was in the JV race, working his way back.
ReplyDelete